NFL Slants for Week 9

Checking Down:

-Wow, Chad Henne, that was a lot of turnovers

-Somehow Larry Fitzgerald has almost the same stats as Anquan Boldin, despite Boldin having a much better team/QB

-The Pats got caught in a trap game versus a feisty opponent. Belichick will make them learn from this, and they will win at least 1 of the games versus Indy and Pittsburgh, maybe both

-Atlanta made a statement today, but it didn’t surprise me Tampa was feisty. Josh Freeman may be the next McNabb, but Atlanta will cruise into a top seed this year.

-Buffalo, again, nice try. But, when Chicago out games you, you know you have problems. Fitzpatrick should stay though.

-Again, the Jets get a win they don’t deserve. Theme of this week: kickers getting hurt. There should be a rule you have to carry 3 kicking specialists between punters and kickers at all times. I don’t want to see Suh kicking anymore.

-San Diego, we’ve seen this run before. However, we also know how it ends. Still, Phillip Rivers deserves an award for doing what he is doing with no Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd, Nanee, or Gates. They could call it the….MVP award.

-Brett Favre was impressive. And the Vikings showed heart. However, Childress still might be fired within the week, and should be. I think Leslie Frazier can do everything Childress is, and not affect the offense.

-Don’t look now, but NO is dominating again. They have a week to get healthy and refocus.

-The Giants showed why they are the dominant team in the NFC right now. If only they can keep it up…

-KC-OAK was nice, but both teams had so many mistakes and missed opportunities to prevail over the other it showed why in all likelihood they will need another year to fully mature. SD will win this division again, somehow.

-IND needs a little adjustment time, but I fully expect them to get to 10 wins and win the division.

-Green Bay had a great game, but the story of that game was that Dallas has quit, period.

Going Long:

-In some ways I applaud Jerry Jones’ idea of not firing a coach mid season, but he has to do it in this case. They have to try Jason Garrett, and see if he has the stuff or not. They also need to accept they are done at 1-7. Play Dez Bryant and Martellus Bennett and make sure they get all the experience they can. Focus on rebuilding Felix Jones’ frame to what it was. Start really coaching that secondary. Let McGee play QB (Kitna is not the future), and let Romo call plays or something productive. Put Romo on IR, play some young player in that spot. Get rid of Marion Barber. This team needs an infusion of youth and solid role players. The Cowboys need to be shaken out. This loss was so bad because at the end the team looked like it just thought it should have won but they were never even competitive. They are so past game plans and schemes. Wade has lost them, and he looks shell shocked. 0-8 Buffalo and 2-6 Detroit are worlds ahead in progress, effort, and optimism. This team does have a lot of talent. It just needs to be shaken up, with some line help on both sides, and a new approach. This season just needs to end. 

BLISS